Process of making thin plate.



prion.

DANIEL M. SOMERS, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF MAKIING THEN PLATE.

mxsoossz Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ct. 3, 1905.

Application filed May 24. 1905. Serial No. 262-088- To all whom, it'mayconcern: I

Be it known that I, DANIEL M. SoMERs, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, haveinvented certainnew and useful Improvements in Processes of Making ThinPlate, full y described and represented in the following specificationand the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to an improved process for making thin platesuch,for instance, as the plate which is used as the basis for commercialtin-plate.

In the ordinary operation of making thin plate of the character referredto as it is now carried on the plate is produced by subjectingplate-bars to the proper heating and rolling operations until thedesired gage of plate is reached. The plate is then pickled, the sheetssubjected to the pickling process, ordinarily measuring about twenty bytwenty-eight inches, the thickness varying according to the standardgage of plate to be produced. This pickling operation cleans the plateand removes the scale therefrom. After pickling the plate is annealedand then cold-rolled to surface it. The plate is then ready for thetinning process if it is to be made into tinplate or for othercommercial uses.

The present invention has-for its object to reduce the cost of producingthin plate of the general character referred to and at the same time toimprove the character of the product.

them to be subjected to subsequent reducing and elongating operations.The sheets treated will vary in size and thickness according to the sizeand gage of plate to be finally produced. If, for instance, plate whichis to serve as a basis for commercial tin-plate'is to be produced,thepickled'plates referred to may conveniently be about twenty-eight bythirtysix inches and about one-sixteenth of an inch thick. These platesafter being pickled are heated in asuitable furnace and are then subjected to pressure, preferably by rolling them, by which they arereduced in thickness and elongated, the product thus produced beingsheets fifteen feet long by twenty-eight inches wide and about .0116 ofan inch in Y thickness, this being the thicknessof what is ing andsubsequent operations will be carried on without permitting the plate tobe acted upon by the air, thus preventing the formation of scale and thediscoloration of the plate-that is, the product of the process is grayplate or what is commercially known as white plate, as distinguishedfrom the black plate, which is the product of the 0rdinary heating andreducing operations,which black plate must be pickled to clean itandremove the scale therefrom. When the process is carried on in this way,very marked economies result over the ordinary commercial process. Inthe first place the amount of surface to be pickled is greatly reduced,thus largely reducing the cost of this operation. In the specific caseabove referred to the reduction amounts to four-fifths. In the nextplace a superior product is produced. In pickling very thin platethatis, the plate which has been reduced to standard gagethe acid picklingsolution attacks the plate unevenly and in some places actuallyperforates it, so that the pickled product varies in grade. In makingtin-plate this pickled plate is cold-rolled, which operation surfacestheplate and removes to a certain extent the imperfections produced bypickling. A large number of these imperfections are, however, of such acharacter that they cannot be eliminated and cannot be detected untilafter the plate is tinned, so that a very considerable amount of what isknown as wasters occurs in comniercialtinplate-that is, imperfect sheetswhich have to be rejected and sold at a low price. In fact, some ofthese imperfections-- as, for instance, in cases whdre the sheet isthinned along a line of some length, but not actually perforated-escapedetection even after tinning and are discovered by the break ing of-themetal when it is attempted to put the sheets to commercial use; Bypickling the sheets when they are comparatively thick and thensubjecting them to theheating and pressure operations to reduce andelongate them the imperfections produced by pickling are, in the firstplace, not nearly so extensive and, in the second place, are to a greatextent cured or removed by the subsequent operations.

It has been stated that when the process is carried out according to thebest way the pickled plate will be subjected to the various operationswithout permitting it to come in cbntact with the air. lit may befurther remarked that better and more economical results will beproduced if the sheets of plate prior to heating and reducing areassembled in packs and if the sheets, whether assembled in packs or not,are after the final reducing operation annealed without being exposed tothe air and without permitting them to be exposed to the air between thefinal reducing operation and the annealing operation.

While, as has been indicated, the best results will be effected when thesteps of the process referred to are carried on without permitting thepickled plate to become exposed to the air during the operations re-'ferred to, fairly good results may be obtained 7 where the pickled plateis heated and elongated while exposed to .the 'air, this beingparticularly true where packs of plate are being operated upon. When theprocess is carried on in this manner, it will probably be necessary topickle the outside sheets of the pack after elongation; but the innersheets will in a large measurebe free from discoloration and scale.

Where especially high-grade product is desired, the pickled plate may besubjected to cold-rolling prior to the heating and subsequentoperations. This cold-rolling will so rface the sheets, and the surfacethus obtained will be preserved to a great extent during the subsequentoperations.

While the improved process is not dependent upon any particular form ofapparatus, the apparatus described in an application filed by me onMarch 28, 1904:, and serially numbered 199,831 is a suitable one forcarrying it into eflect.

It will be obvious that the process described not only has the greatadvantage of enabling thin plate to be produced at a less cost thanheretofore, but it has the further advantage of enabling a very superiorarticle of plate to be produced.

While the improved process is particularly advantageous when used in theproduction of ations being carried on without exposing the plate to theaction of the air, whereby formation of scale is prevented.

2. The process of making thin plate which consists in assemblingpreviouslypickled sheets of plate in a pack, heating the pack, and thensubjecting it to pressure to elongate the plate and reduce itsthickness.

3. The process of making'thin plate which consists in assemblingpreviously pickled sheets of plate in a pack, heating the pack and thensubjecting it to pressure to elongate and reduce the plate in thickness,the heating and pressure operations being carried on without exposingthe plate'to the action of the air.

4. The process of making thin plate which consists in cold rollingpreviously pickled plate, then heating the plate, andthen su bjecting itto pressure to elongate the plate and red uce its thickness, the heatingand pressure operations being carried on without exposing the plate tothe action of the air.

5. The process of making thin plate which consists in cold-rpllingsheets of previouslypickled plate, assembling the sheets in a pack,heating the pack, and then subjecting the pack to pressure to elongatethe plate and reduce the thickness.

6. The process of making thin plate which consists in cold-rollingsheets of previouslypickled plate, assembling the sheets in a pack,heating the pack, and then subjecting the pack to pressure to elongatethe plate and reduce the thickness, the heating and pressure operationsbeing carried on without exposing the plate to the action of the air.

7 The process of making thin plate which consists in heatingpreviously-pickled plate, then subjecting it to pressure to elongate theplate and'reduce its thickness, and then annealing, these operationsbeing carried on without exposing the plate to the action of the air.

8. The process of making thin plate which consists in heating previously-pickled plate, assembling the plate in a pack, subjecting the pack topressure to elongate the plate and reduce its thickness, and thenannealing", the heating, pressure and annealing operations being carriedon without exposing the plate to the action of the air.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

- 'DANllEL M. SUMERS. Witnesses: Ansnsra Wnrrn,

- Janus Q. than.

